Applicants without a 1st/2:1/2:2 degree will not be considered further

Applicants who do not hold a degree will be considered, provided they are currently studying a degree

A higher GAMSAT cut-off is set for applicants with a lower second class (2:2) degree

December-January

Checking of work experience questionnaires

End-January

Invitation to Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) for those who obtain the highest scores in GAMSAT

March – April

Interviews and Offers

Interviews are usually held over the Easter period (between March-April depending on the year)

We aim to send letters of offers no later than 2 weeks after the last set of interviews

September

GEM course begins

Scoring system

Who can apply?

GEM is open to graduates of any age or discipline who hold, or are predicted to obtain, an honours degree at 2:2 level or above. We also accept postgraduate degees - MSc, MA, MPhil or PhD - in lieu of a first degree if obtained by 20th July of the year of entry (you do not need to have graduated by this date but you must have your results ratified by the exam board).

We do not accept any other postgraduate or professional qualifications. Degrees from overseas institutions are accepted if the National Academic Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) agree it is comparable to a UK bachelors honours degree.

Applications are invited from Home/EU and International students. To qualify for home status you must have indefinite leave to remain in the UK, granted by 1 September of the year of entry to the course, and have been ordinarily resident in the UK, for purposes other than full-time study, for at least three years prior to the course start date.

Applicants are also required to have successfully passed the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT). More detail are available under the heading GAMSAT and at www.gamsatuk.org. No more than two interview attemps are permitted.

Work Experience

It is expected that you will have a significant amount of work experience, for example working or volunteering in a healthcare related setting, not merely shadowing a doctor. This might include working in a care home, volunteering with disabled people, in addition to observing doctors in a general practice or hospital.

The importance of work experience should not be underestimated. It is the only way we can ensure you are making a genuinely informed choice about a career in medicine. We expect you to demonstrate a commitment to caring for people and a realistic idea of what working as a doctor entails. Candidates will be invited to interview once details of the work experience are recorded via an online questionnaire, including contacts for more recent work experience. Inadequate work experience may lead to withdrawal of interview offer.

GAMSAT

The use of GAMSAT as the course entry requirement for GEM is designed to broaden access to the course and avoid unnecessary exclusion on the grounds of distant, and sometimes irrelevant, academic results.

A high pass in GAMSAT fulfils all our requirements and shows that your academic ability and reasoning skills are sufficient to undertake the GEM course. All applicants to GEM must sit the GAMSAT.

The GAMSAT examination is divided into three sections:

Reasoning in the Humanities and Social Sciences - multiple choice questions

You will receive a score out of 100 for each section, and from these, the GAMSAT examining body calculate an overall GAMSAT score using the following formula:

Overall Score = (Section 1 + Section 2+2 x Section 3)/4

We calculate scores using a slightly different formula: Overall

Score = (Section 1 + Section 2 + Section 3)/3

You will be selected for interview on the basis of the higher of your two overall scores.

Each year different GAMSAT cut off scores are set for those with a first or 2:1 honours degree, and those with a 2:2 honours degree. As well as reaching the cut-off score, in order to be considered for interview, candidates must achieve:

a minimum score of 55 in Section 2

55 in either Section 1 or 3

at least 50 in the remaining section

High scores in the other sections cannot compensate for a low score in one section. Interviews will be offered to those who achieve the highest GAMSAT scores. A higher cut-off score is employed where an applicant has a lower second class degree. This may vary but is currently set five GAMSAT points higher than the cut-off score for applicants with a first or 2:1 level degree.

GAMSAT takes place once a year in the UK. Individuals can sit the test the year before they wish to apply for a place and scores are valid for two years. If you sit the test more than once, you may select whichever result you wish us to consider. However, you are not permitted to submit individual section scores from different years.

Further information about GAMSAT, including costs, and application forms for GEM are available at www.gamsatuk.org.

Any enquiries about GAMSAT should be directed to the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER):

Interviews are only offered to those candidates who receive the highest scores in the GAMSAT and have adequate health-related work experience. At Derby this means we interview around 250-300 applicants each year for a total of around 93 places.

You will be asked to present original copies of your degree certificates before the interview. Failing to provide certificates before 1 August of the year of entry may result in your place being withdrawn.

The interview is designed to assess the personal qualities we consider essential for the practice of medicine. You will be expected to have good communication and listening skills, an understanding of professional issues such as teamwork and respect for the contribution of those working in professions allied to medicine.

Interviews are conducted by a combination of medical practitioners, university academics and laypeople. Laymembers are drawn from a wide range of professions including science, health services management, education, and human resources. All interviewers are trained using standardised examples of the structured interview process

Interviews take around an hour and currently comprise a multiple mini-interviews format. All candidates are asked the same questions around the following themes:

Has the candidate demonstrated that they are fully aware of what the role of a doctor will entail?

What evidence is there of the candidate's interest in, and commitment to, healthcare?

Does the candidate display the personal attributes necessary for the study and practice of medicine?

Has the candidate considered the strong emphasis placed on PBL at Derby, and whether this suits their own approach to learning?

You will usually be informed as to whether your interview has been successful within two weeks of the final round of interviews. Successful candidates need to firmly accept or reject offers by the beginning of June.

Equal opportunities

It is important that the process of student admission onto a medical course at The University of Nottingham is free from unlawful discrimination of any kind. Our guidelines are based on those prepared by The University of Nottingham Medical School Admissions Committee. These guidelines are consistent with The University of Nottingham Code of Practice on Admissions and Recruitment.